Elder Zhou
|chinese_title = 周长老 |name = Zhou |name_ref = |chinese_name = 周 |aliases = Fifth Elder |afiliation = !Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect--fifth elder#51 |occupation = !Elder#51 |gender = !Male#51 |age = >1000 |status = Alive |era = !7-#1 |race = !Humans#1 |world = !Mortal Emperor World#1 |region = !Grand Middle Territory#1 |nation = !Heavenly Jewel Kingdom#1 |level = !Named Hero#2 |first_appearance = 1-Unnamed*51-Name revealed |death_appearance = |history = Origin Elder Zhou is the Fifth Elder of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. Sect Master's Position supported Gu Tieshou's candidature for the position of the next Sect Master. When Su Yonghuang was appointed instead, was among many others who strongly opposed her, because she was an outsider and moreover too young. Gu Tieshou, under the order of his master, supressed all opposition and supported Su Yonghuang. Even so, to avoid conflicts with the Elders, Su Yonghuang gathered a small group of Protectors, Sectional Leaders, and disciples and brought them away from the Sect. For more than ten years after, Su Yonghuang almost never returned to the Sect and didn't interfere with the Sect's internal affairs; the six elders became the main deciders of any big decisions of the Sect. Accepting the Prime Disciple When Li Qiye came to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect with the Third Ancient Order and asked for the position of the Prime Disciple, , together with other Elders, gathered in the Grand Chamber to meet him. They were very unhappy, especially after they tested Li Qiye's talents. However, since he had the Third Ancient Order, and Sect Master agreed to take him as disciple the Elders have no choice but to agree. Ancient Marriage Treaty Later the Elders gathered once again to notify Li Qiye about Ancient Marriage Treaty with the Nine Saint Demon Gate. Li Qiye's return After Li Qiye's return from the Nine Saint Demon Gate, the Elders gathered to discuss his results. Second Elder tried to convince other elders, that Li Qiye was Nine Saint Demon Gate's spy. But Elder Sun disagreed and argued, that the Gate was currently many times stronger than the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect and basically didn't have any need to send spies as they can easily destroy the Sect if they wanted. Li Shuangyan's visit Four months later, the Nine Saint Demon Gate sent a message to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect, informing them that Li Shuangyan will come next day. Next day all the elders, protectors, sectional leaders and many disciples gathered in the Grand Temple to meet Li Shuangyan. To their surprise, it wasn't only Li Shuangyan who came; she was accompanied by Grand Protector Yu He. They were even more surprised by Yu He's extremerly polite attitude towards Li Qiye. On behalf of the Demon King, Yu He invited Li Qiye to visit the Nine Saint Demon Gate in his spare time and assured him that the Demon King will personally meet him. Li Qiye thanked Yu He, and told him to feel at home in the Sect, and if there are any inconveniences, to just let Protector Mo or Nan Huairen know. After that Li Qiye went away with Li Shuangyan under the gazes of the shocked crowd. Cleansing Jade Peak Several days later Gu Tieshou had gathered the other Elders to discuss the King Physique Paste what they promised to Li Qiye. He also notified them that Li Qiye requires the Hell Iron Bull's marrow as the leading component of the Paste and how much is a cost for it. Elder Qian, Elder Zhou and Elder Wu weren't happy to pay so much. Cao Xiong tried to play on their displeasure and convince them to cancel the deal altogether. Eventually, Gu Tieshou used his aura to supress them all and forced them to agree. Conspiracy Massacre at the Cleansing Jade Peak Half a year later, Li Qiye killed Protector Hu, three Sectional Leaders and Leng Shizhi at the Cleansing Jade Peak. Gu Tieshou received the news and brought other Elders to the Cleansing Jade Peak for explanation, just in time to stop Cao Xiong and Dong Shenglong from killing Li Qiye. Cao Xiong blamed Li Qiye in betraying the Sect and killing his fellow disciples and the law enforcement team. Li Qiye retorted that the traitor was not he, but rather Cao Xiong, who conspired with Dong Shenglong to frame and kill him in order to destroy the marital agreement between the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect and the Nine Saint Demon Gate, because it would threaten Dong Shenglong's Heavenly God Sect. Dong Shenglong was enraged by this "slander" and tried to kill Li Qiye. Gu Tieshou revealed his true strength of a Royal Noble, surprising even other Elders, and forced Dong Shenglong to retreat. Abandoned by Dong Shenglong, Cao Xiong still tried to incriminate Li Qiye. His follower Sectional Leader Zhou accused Li Qiye in teaching wrong merit laws to the Cleansing Jade Peak's disciples and undermining their cultivation. Gu Tieshou then asked several disciples about Li Qiye's teachings. and other Elders were shocked by Li Qiye's knowleadge and insights. New Hope for the Sect Cao Xiong then used his last ace and accused Li Qiye in stealing the manual for Kun Peng's Six Variants. As the Sect's last complete Immortal Emperor Merit Law, the Kun Peng's Six Variants was heavily guarded, and even Elders could not easily get access to it. Li Qiye, however, told them that after learning the Kun Peng's Six Minor Forms he saw an "old grandpa" in his dream and learned the Kun Peng's Six Variants from him. While not fully believing him, the Elders decided to give it a try and allowed Li Qiye to study another Minor Emperor Merit Law, the Violet Cloud Merit Law, in the hope that "old grandpa" will taught him its superior form. Three months later Li Qiye successfully brought the complete manual for the Violet Yang Ten Suns Merit Law. As a reward for his great merits, Li Qiye asked the Elders to allow Protector Mo and Nan Huairen to learn the Violet Yang Ten Suns Merit Law and the Elders agreed. Because of Li Qiye's achievements and potential, five Elders decided to wave off his crimes. Cao Xiong, however, insisted that they need to punish him at least a little to appease other diciples. The Elders then decided to send Li Qiye to the Ghost Pavilion for half a year with Protector Mo as overseer. Since entire situation was caused by Sectional Leader Zhou, Gu Tieshou decided to take away his position and other Elders supported his decision. After the official meeting, the Elders, with the exception of Cao Xiong, gathered again to discuss their future plans. Elder Sun and Elder Qian suggested that they should let Li Qiye practice the Daylight Sky Merit Law to re-obtain Min Ren's Heaven's Will Secret Law. Gu Tieshou, however, persuaded them to not be too impatient and to let Li Qiye stabilize his cultivation first, before he studied more Merit Laws. Heavenly Jewel Kingdom's attack Due to behind the scenes shenanigans of Cao Xiong and Dong Shenglong, the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom sent one of its most powerful generals, War Noble Lie, with an army to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. When War Noble Lie arrived, he chalenged Gu Tieshou for a "sparring match". Cao Xiong interfered, but was quickly defeated and seemingly injured. Gu Tieshou ordered the other elders to escort Cao Xiong back into the Sect and heal his wounds. Everyone were fooled by Cao Xiong's injuries, but Protector Mo watched him closely under Li Qiye's order, so he noticed that their battle was just for show. Protector Mo informed other elders about his suspicions and they secretly followed Cao Xiong to the Zither Pavilion where they witnessed his betrayal. They demanded him to surrender, but Cao Xiong captured Li Qiye and threatened to kill him if other didn't make way. Before anyone could react, Dong Shenglong also came into the Zither Pavilion. After learning how to obtain Min Ren's Heaven's Will Secret Law, Dong Shenglong decided to kill elders and push the blame on Li Shuangyan and Nine Saint Demon Gate, but, before he could do anything, Li Qiye activated Zither Pavilion, killed Cao Xiong and destroyed Dong Shenglong's cultivation. The elders captured Dong Shenglong, while Li Qiye used Zither Pavilion's power to kill the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom's army and cripple War Noble Lie. Dong Shenglong and War Noble Lie were imprisoned and Li Qiye declared that three days later the Sect would publicly behead them. While some Elders and Protectors were wary of such bold actions, fearing a retaliation from the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom, Gu Tieshou fully supported Li Qiye. In fact, both of them hoped that the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom would send its strongest army for retaliation, because it would give the Sect an opportunity to kill them all with the Zither Pavilion's power and greatly damage the Heavenly Jewel Kingdom's overall strength. Three days later participated in the execution alongside other elders. The Heavenly Jewel Kingdom tried to stop it, but Li Qiye still executed Dong Shenglong and War Noble Lie. Revitalizing the Sect and others returned to the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect. Everyone in the Sect were jubilant after today's events as it allowed them to see a hope for the Sect's revival. Li Qiye, however, reminded them that they don't need to be too excited, because the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect is still very weak. In the next several days Li Qiye personally examined every member of the Cleansing Incense Ancient Sect from disciples to elders. He chose the most suitable Merit Laws for every individual and explained in details how to cultivate them in the most efficient way. Li Qiye's instructions enlightened everyone and entire Sect began to ardently cultivate. Sect Master's Return A month later Sect Master Su Yonghuang had suddenly returned after years of self-exile. She wanted to bring some talented disciples with her to the Evil Infested Ridge for training, but Gu Tieshou and other Elders opposed her decision. Their debate was interrupted by Li Qiye, who, after short observation, deduced Su Yonghuang's origin and understood why she was choosen to become Sect Master. He then asked the Elders to let them speak alone at the Lonely Peak. Next day Li Qiye gathered the elders, Su Yonghuang and Tu Bu Yu in the Grand Chamber. Tu Bu Yu told the elders that he was in fact a disciple of Liu San Jian, who sent him to search for 's descendants. Li Qiye then revealed to elders that Su Yonghuang was a direct descendant of . He also used this opportunity to give Su Ru a proper title of Imperial Queen - official wife of . Even though it was already too late for Su Ru, at the very least, it allowed her descendant Su Yonghuang to accept her ancestry. To prove that Su Yonghuang is the descendant of , Li Qiye asked the elders to bring Min Ren's self-portrait. The elders compared the painting with Su Yonghuang, and discovered that they indeed had many similarities. Su Yonghuang then spilled a drop of blood on the portrait. The blood summoned Min Ren's spirit from the painting and it looked at Su Yonghuang, confirming her status. Moreover, 's spirit also looked at Li Qiye. Emperor naturally recognized his teacher, but to Elders it seemed as a confirmation of that Li Qiye was seeing Min Ren in his dreams as he claimed. After learning Su Yonghuang's real identity, the Elders were ashamed by how they treated her in the past. Su Yonghuang forgave them and they decided to leave the past behind. Li Qiye then declared that he would led a group of disciples to the Evil Infested Ridge for training. The Elders were apprehensive that other sects and nations would not allow them to enter the Evil Infested Ridge, but Li Qiye insisted. Gu Tieshou then decided to go with them and bring Min Ren's self-portrait for protection. |techniques = * Kun Peng's Six Variants: At some point during the Difficult Dao Era Elder Zhou risked his life and achieved a great contribution for the Sect. With the unanimous agreement from the Elders and Protectors, he was allowed to practice the Kun Peng's Six Variants's first three transformations. }}